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"Disappear" wound up being one of my most popular songs, which is funny because it grew out of a jam session with Kurt and I didn't think much of it to begin with. I didn't like it at first but it grew on me, which is good because I've probably played it more than any other song I've ever written.

The lyrics are about the idea that when your life falls out from under you and you have nothing to live for, you always have the option to pick up and leave and just say screw it, because you no longer have anything to lose. It was inspired partly by Courtney Love's reaction to Kurt Cobain's suicide note ("you can just stop!"), partly by Jeffrey Irons' movie DAMAGE, and partly by a road trip to Colorado where some of this was written. The protagonist of "Disappear" basically just takes off one day and this is the mental note he's writing to the people he's leaving behind. In my mind he's lost his family in a car wreck, and he's staying with his sister and they're all really worried about him, and he can't stand it anymore so he just gets out. But it's really about loss and the freedom of travel, and as such the idea and vibe of this song formed the later basis for the entire LUDLOW 6:18 album.

The recording on KEEP YOURSELF AMUSED is the same that appeared on our original demo that was cut at IRS Studios which was later a part of the scene-defining CLOSET POP FREAK compilation that came out in 1996, with a different (but still bad) lead vocal and extra guitars. Thus it's the only appearance by Kurt Medlin on the first two Cockeyed Ghost albums, appropriate since he was there at the song's inception.

Like a lot of early Cockeyed Ghost songs, this one was probably a bit too self-consciously rocking and my lead vocal is crap to boot. For that reason, it was one of the tracks earmarked to be recut for the DAYLIGHT KISSING NIGHT compilation. The 2007 version for the first time features a decent lead vocal (due in no small part to Evie singing half of it, taking over Rob Cassell's vocal from the original) and while it basically adheres to the original arrangement, it's in time and in tune, so where the first version was kind of spastic, this is more spread out and, hopefully, majestic.

lyrics

The worst case is the suitcase
And from this point on it will be my raison d'etre
No homilies
Or apologies
Goodbye, I'm sorry, forgive me, etc. etc.

Who knows why
When you cry until your stomach's aching
Swallowed by
The crushing weight of convictions shaken
There are some hurts just to big to take in

Walk to the street in dawning grey
And put the car in gear
Bitter pictures fade away
And I just disappear

The great escape is the interstate
And the pink horizons rising on four lanes
And underneath a broken man's belief
That flight makes right, like the headlights
On passing trains in darkest night
Moving forward without destination
Pass from sight
Away from black impenetration
Arriving at the brightest stations

credits

from Daylight Kissing Night - Adam Marsland's Greatest Hits, released March 18, 2008
Adam - vocals, guitars
Evie Sands - vocals, guitar
Teresa Cowles - vocals, bass
Kurt Medlin - drums, percussion

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Adam Marsland Los Angeles, California

Adam Marsland's long career has included stints as a singer/songwriter, touring troubadour, producer, and multi- instrumentalist/sideman. He has made 11 albums as a solo artist and as leader of '90s power pop combo Cockeyed Ghost, and toured the country 22 times as a DIY performer. He has worked with artists as diverse as The Standells, 2008 Tony Award Winner Stew, and members of the Beach Boys. ... more

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